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THE
PROPHETS MADE A COMPREHENSIVE INVITATION TO GOD
There
was no fragmentation or compartmentalization in the way of
the Prophets. They dealt with people and life in a
holistic manner and never ignored or neglected any of
man’s faculties. They appealed to man’s intellect,
reason, spirit and all his outer and inner senses and
feelings.
The
position of a Prophet in relation to Divine Revelation is
like that of a corpse in the hands of one who washes it.
God directs and guides him in whatever fashion is required
to lead his people. Without this Divine direction, he
would not be able to guide anyone. Neglect of the
intellect, for instance, would result in a community of
poor, docile mystics. Negligence of the heart or spirit,
on the other hand, would result in crude rationalism
devoid of any spiritual dimension. Man comprises
intellect, spirit and body and each must be assigned its
due part of the Message. Also, man is an active being.
Therefore, he should be led to activity according to the
purpose of his life as determined by God and communicated
by the Prophets. God did not leave him to become a passive
recluse, nor allow him to be an ‘activist’ without
reason and spirit, or a ‘rationalist’ without
spiritual reflection and activism. It is only when the
intellect, spirit and body are harmonized, and man is
motivated towards activity in the illuminated way of the
Divine Message, that he can become a complete being and
attain true humanity. This was the aim of the Prophets,
upon them all be peace, and should be the aim of all those
who wish to be their followers. The Qur’an declares:
Say
(O Muhammad): ‘This is my way: I call (people) to
God with wisdom and insight, I and those who follow
me.’ (Yusuf, 12.108)
The
Prophets Asked No Wage From People
A
Prophet does not live for himself. Dedicated to his
mission wholly, a Prophet is an altruist and lives for the
happiness and good of others. His happiness lies in seeing
people devoted to God for ultimate salvation but he never
expects from people anything in return for what he does;
his reward is from none but God alone. This is a very
important and indispensable aspect of a Prophet’s
communication of the Divine Message, one frequently
emphasized in the Qur’an:
O my
people! I ask of you no wealth for it, my reward is from
none but God. (Hud, 11.29)
The
Prophets Left The Results To God
The
Prophets were charged with conveying the Divine Message to
people. They did their best to this end and patiently
faced many misfortunes and even torment. They fulfilled
their responsibilities without worrying about the result
of their call to God. They knew with all certainty that it
is only God who will bring about the desired result.
The
three fundamentals briefly outlined above set the
principles for everyone who wishes to take up the Divine
responsibility to call to God in every subsequent age, in
every place.
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